The Bravery of Ancient Indians

by Jayaram V

For nearly two thousand years after the collapse of the cities
of Harappa and Mohenjodaro, India remained free from foreign aggression.
Despite of their great strength and vast mobile army, the Persians
somehow avoided confronting the native rulers of India and looked
elsewhere for the expansion of their empire.

When Alexander invaded India he was met with stiff opposition
from the native tribes, whom he suppressed with great difficulty.
The might of the Nandas was already known to the marching armies
of Alexander and they were evidently apprehensive of their own survival
as they approached the kingdom of Puru.

We have enough reasons to believe that king Puru actually gave
a taste of defeat to Alexander and was magnanimous enough to allow
him to leave the battle field with dignity. After this encounter,
so great was the fear felt by his army about the might of the Indian
kingdoms that Alexander had no option but to accept their demand
to terminate his campaign and return to Macedonia.

With all his rashness and ruthlessness, which were so evident
during his Persian campaign or in his dealings with his own commanders
and friends, Alexander would have never allowed his enemy to remain
free in such a dignified manner, had he not perceived it as the
only alternative to his own survival and personal dignity.

It was very probable that he was either fully defeated or nearly
defeated and was left with no option but to return. He therefore
halted his ambition and turned back, having learned good lessons
spiritually, politically and temporally about himself and his might
as a world conqueror. Sick and troubled with unpleasant memories,
he died on his way back to Macedonia.

The Greek historians suppressed this truth about Alexander's
setback for obvious reasons. They did not want to tarnish the character
and life of a great hero, especially after he had passed away in
the prime of his youth in pitiable conditions leaving his unfulfilled
dreams behind. They did not want to expose him to unnecessary ridicule
and criticism by his own people and by his future generations.

So very wisely they reversed the roles of Alexander and Puru
and attributed weariness of the army and the distance from the homeland
as the reasons for his unconditional withdrawal. It was not uncommon
among the kings in the ancient world, and for that matter even in
the medieval period to boast about their victories to their gullible
people even after they suffered humiliating defeat in far away lands.

Thus for nearly three thousand years after the entry of the vedic
people into the subcontinent, till Alexander came to this country
with his huge army, the Indian subcontinent remained free from foreign
invasions. It was not that the Greeks or Persians had no means of
invading India. It was because they were aware of the strength and
the fighting spirit of the Indian armies and they did not want to
go all the way and get defeated in an unfamiliar environment.

It was only after the fall of the Mauryan empire that the foreigners
occupied large tracts of northwestern India including the Punjab
and began their rule on a larger scale. Though the Indian rulers
regained their lost lands from them from time to time, India seldom
remained free from foreign invasions. During these invasions the
people suffered greatly, slaughtered and exploited mercilessly by
the victorious armies.

What forces contributed to this fall of the native character
and rendered him vulnerable to outside attacks is explained variously
by many historians? The disunity among the native rulers and the
divisions with in Indian society on the basis of caste and religion
can be cited as the chief reasons for the troubles of Indian subcontinent
for the last two millenniums.

It is interesting to note that these two problems persist even
today. There are today six or seven nations in the Indian subcontinent
who hardly see eye to eye with each other. A great majority of people
in these countries live below poverty line and seldom in peace.
There is hardly any friendship and feelings of common ancestry amongst
them. Deeply divided and distrustful of each other, they show little
consideration for their common past, or the possibility of working
for each other's welfare and economic success. Divided as they are
on social, political, regional or religious grounds, they have great
antipathy towards each other.

Perhaps there are no other countries in the history of the world
with such common heritage and ancestry which were invaded and subjugated
by so many outsiders and so many times. In no other countries you
would come across so much religious or social tension, so much betrayal
and social or religious discard. In a land where religious consciousness
rose to such great heights, it is difficult to understand why human
character became so weak and degraded.

Some historians tend to lay the blame on Buddhism. But it is
difficult to believe that Buddhism was responsible for the weakening
of the character of these peoples. If it was really the cause, then
why did not it happen in countries like China and Japan who also
became converted to Buddhism. There Buddhism strengthened the character
of these nations and turned them into hard fighters.

It is hard to predict in what direction these countries would
ultimately proceed. They have all the resources, great moral strength
and strong religious fervor. They have abundant practical intelligence
and an all round knowledge of sciences and arts, sufficient to push
them right into the middle of 21st century. In many ways they are
very progressive minded and they have a vast reservoir of leadership
to depend upon in times of crises.

Would they eventually learn lessons from their common past and
come together to forge some form of alliance? Would they ever learn
to trust each other, or decimate each other in some nuclear holocaust?
There is no doubt that if these countries unite and work together
even in a partial way, tolerating each other's paths and ways, the
world would know where to look for the next center of world power.

About: Hinduwebsite.com provides original
and scholarly information about Hinduism and related religions, society and
culture. We promote tolerance and the highest ideals reflected in these cultures.
We have been serving the world community since 1999.
More...